Covert Affairs Series 6 EP1 - My version
by jenpen89
Summary: Following straight on from the end of series 5, here is what I imagine happening with the CA characters: Annie makes her decisions and jumps straight back into the field. She and McQuaid head to Russia to extract a deep undercover operative but things don't go to plan and they inadvertently start a set of events that could spell their downfall.
1. Chapter 1

"Yes!" Annie exclaimed as the door opened.

"Yes? You mean…?" stammered McQuaid.

"Yes, I'll marry you!" she said, giggling and leaping into his waiting arms. He laughed with her before pressing his lips against hers; she could feel his smile.

It wasn't long before there was a trail of discarded clothes. They didn't reach the bedroom…

Propped up on one elbow, Ryan stroked Annie's bare arm. She wore a soft smile as they lay there, quietly enjoying each other's company.

"I suppose I should get you a ring," he said eventually.

Annie rolled onto her back, smiling playfully up at her new fiancé, "I suppose you should," she answered.

"Well, I was hoping the answer would be yes. But you took me a little by surprise, Miss Walker," he found his pants, and pulling them on, bent his knee and from the pocket pulled a velvet blue box.

"Miss Annie Walker, would you do the honour of marrying me?" he asked, as he pulled open the box to reveal a platinum band with a solitary diamond.

"Yes, I will," replied Annie, a grin spreading across her face.

He slipped the ring on her finger.

They rest of the afternoon was spent much like their first night together; talking, drinking, laughing.

"What made you say yes?" Ryan asked all of a sudden.

The question surprised Annie a little, but she relaxed and smiling softly answered, "I listened to my heart. It told me a few things actually…Joan offered me a job, back at Langley. In the field…it would be a promotion, actually."

"Ok. What did you say?" he asked, without a hint of judgement.

"I said I'd think about it…but at the same time I realised I wanted to say Yes to you, I realised I didn't want to go back. With you, I can get the best of both worlds. Langley can contract out to us and at the same time I don't have to deal with the bureaucracy. I mean, what would happen the next time I do something they don't agree with? I know you trust me and I trust you."

"Alright then," he said, leaning up and kissing Annie again, "I think this deserves another toast."

The ring caught the light. Annie looked away from her computer to study her hand and a smile spread slowly across her face. A knock on her door brought her back down to earth.

"Can I borrow you?" Ryan asked, leaning against her door frame.

"Business or pleasure?" Annie smiled.

"Business. Although, it's always a pleasure to be in your company," he replied.

Annie followed him through the corridors, their hands brushing slightly. Despite being discreet, news about their engagement had travelled throughout the building. But things at work stayed strictly professional, at least in the office.

Joan and Arthur sat at McQuaid's desk and shortly after they were joined by another man, Cooke, one of McQuaid's top operatives.

"Thanks for joining us. Annie, Cooke, Langley have contracted us to for an assignment in Russia. Joan is here to brief us, we three will be on a plane in the next two hours. Joan?"

"Thanks, McQuaid. Greg Blake, an operative of ours was in deep cover, working for Russian arms dealer Balsunov Denisovich. This morning, he tried to reach out. We think he was trying to warn us of an imminent attack on US soil. We have lost contact with him soon after his message and we are worried his cover is blown. He may already be dead, but we want to try an extraction, but sending our guys in will be too risky. You have methods at your disposal that we don't. If we are too late then any possible intel on a possible threat would be beneficial."

Joan finished her briefing and handed over document wallets with the rest of the details. The office was emptying when Annie felt a hand brush her arm.

"You know, my offer still stands Annie. We all miss you and with Augie gone, the place doesn't seem the same," Joan said.

"Thanks Joan, I appreciate it. You have to admit though, working like this has its benefits," Annie answered.

"That is true. I hear a congratulations is in order," said Joan, her eyes shifting briefly to Annie's hand.

"We were trying to keep it quiet, but it seems everyone knows. Doesn't say much for us as spies" Annie smiled.

"I'm happy for you. Have you set any dates yet?"

"Nothing decided for certain, but we want a small wedding. I'll let you know."

Joan smiled at Annie fondly. Despite feeling certain she had made the right decision to stick at McQuaid, she still found herself feeling a little guilty for not accepting the offer and now, looking at her former boss and mentor the guilt churned more than ever.

The private jet felt comfortable and familiar now. Ryan sat beside her as it started moving along the run way and soon she was watching the landscape drop away through the window.

"We are going to use one of our Russian helicopters to get us as close to Denisovich's last known location as we can without arousing suspicion. He is careful, he uses temporary bases, never near urban centres. The slightest hint of our arrival and he and his men will disappear, so we have a trek ahead of us," said Ryan.

"What is the plan when we find them?" Annie asked.

"Well, we know he travels only with a few men. We take them out, get Denisovich and hopefully find Blake alive. I can signal for our helicopter to extract us when we reach that point. We will take him to a safe house of mine in Chelyabinsk, see if he will talk for us. We should get some rest, we need to hit the ground running when we land."

The whir of the helicopter's blades gradually disappeared into the distance leaving them in a quiet clearing. The rising sun was just starting to shake off the half-light of dawn. Annie slung her back-pack over her shoulder, and studied a GPS device in her hand.

"The co-ordinates Blake last sent in places them North-East of here," she told McQuaid and Cooke.

Taking the lead she headed towards the dark tree line. The air was cold but within half an hour of trekking through thick forest she had a slight sheen on her forehead.

"You ok?" asked her fiancé quietly.

"I'm fine," she answered automatically.

He nodded and they continued on but Annie noticed Ryan's eyes tracking her, his concern causing the slightest of creases around his eyes.

They had barely been walking two hours when they reached a clearing. Cooke called for a stop.

"There was a camp here. It's well covered up but there were definitely people here recently," he said, examining a scuff in the soil.

"How recently?" Ryan asked, "A few days, weeks, what are we talking about here Cooke?"

"No, there was rainfall a couple of days ago, it would have washed away these signs. I think this was from yesterday, possibly even earlier this morning."

"That means they are on the move. Possibly close by. How could you tell?" Annie said.

"My dad was a hunter, he taught me how to track. It started off with animals, now I am an expert at tracking humans," Cooke answered.

"Useful skill. Any clues as to which direction they moved off in?" she asked.

Cooke examined the clearing, bending down and studying the ground. After a few minutes he pointed West.

"Ok. Let's move out. Be on your guard, they could be close by," ordered McQuaid.

From then on they crept through the undergrowth, Cooke taking point and looking for signs of passage.

There was no breeze to rustle the leaves or bird calls, even the insects seemed to stand down. The only noise was their careful steps. It was as if the whole forest had come to a standstill, as if it were holding its breath in anticipation of something. It made Annie shiver.

They reached a particularly dense patch of forest. Her instincts were to avoid it but just as she was about to voice her concerns Cooke called a halt.

"There is a footprint here. Looks fresh," he said in a whisper.

Ryan signalled for them to continue and pushed to the front, leaving Annie to take the rear.

The thick, leaf-laden branches cut out most of the sun light so they continued on in a deep green haze.

Suddenly, the forest's silence broke. There was movement above Annie. Her hand reached for her gun, but before she could draw it, something or someone heavy had landed on her and pinned her to the ground.

She could hear the grunts and struggles of Ryan and Cooke. She tried to push whoever pinned her down away, but all she achieved was a blow around the head.

The pain began then, spreading from her chest to her arm and squeezing the breath from her lungs. She gasped and tried desperately to wrestle free but the pain was paralysing. Everything had grown quiet again but she wasn't sure if the ambush was over or she was simply losing consciousness.

The weight on her shifted and she was able to move her head. Several men surrounded them, two had a hold of Ryan, blood trickled from a small cut on his eye-brow and Cooke looked as if he were coming round from being knocked out.

Annie's vision grew blurry.

"What's wrong with her?" she heard one of the men say in Russian.

She tried to answer, but another wave of pain rippled through her chest.

"Please, she needs medicine. It's in her backpack…" she heard Ryan answer as her vision faded.

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

"Annie?"

The voice punctuated the darkness, beckoning for her to open her eyes.

Ryan's concerned face swam into focus inches away from hers.

"You alright?" he asked

"Yeah…where are we?" she answered.

She watched as her fiancé's face relaxed. Sitting up, she inspected her surroundings; the dark, concrete room was lit by just one small, dim light; the cold, damp floor was scattered with straw and the thick, metal door looked sturdy…and locked.

Ryan settled back on the ground.

"They hooded us, walked us for over an hour. We are still in the forest, but in some sort of underground facility."

"Denisovich?"

"Most likely. How are you feeling? You were out for quite a while," he asked.

"Nothing I can't handle," Annie replied as she stretched out her sore muscles, "Any plans?"

There was no time for Ryan or Cooke to answer. Footsteps sounded outside the room, followed by metal scraping against metal. A bulky man heaved open the door, another, pointing his gun at Ryan, followed.

"You, American – you come with us," said the man with the gun to Ryan.

A look passed between the three operatives; Ryan didn't move.

"Move! Now!" the Russian ordered again.

Annie knew he was waiting for the guard to become aggressive, they could win a hand to hand fight. But the guard didn't fall for the trick; his hand jerked to the left and there was a deafening bang. Cooke slumped against the wall, a dark stain quickly spreading across his abdomen.

"Alright, alright," yelled Ryan, as he held up his hands in surrender.

The other Russian stepped forward and fastened Ryan's hands behind his back with a cable tie. He shot Annie one last glance, and the he was gone, escorted from the room. The door was closed and she heard the lock slide back into place.

Annie scrambled across the floor to her fallen colleague.

"Cooke!? You still with me?"

The operative's eyes blinked open, but they were un-focused.

"Come on now, stay with me. We'll find some way of getting you out of here. Cooke!"

His breathing was laboured. Annie pressed on the wound, trying desperatly to slow the bleeding, but his skin grew sallow and his pulse was weak and erratic.

It took only a few minutes for him to slip away. Annie held his hand for many more, trying not to think of Ryan and what might be happening to him.

Eventually she lay Cooke down and went to sit in the opposite corner.

Closing her eyes, she pushed away the image of Cooke's corpse, ignored the smell of blood that now saturated the small cell and focused her brain into coming up with a solution to their predicament.

She had several ideas by the time she heard footsteps again. The door scraped open once more, and a guard unceremoniously shoved Ryan into the room.

His face was swelling, and blood trickled from a gash in his lip. Annie rushed to his side and helped him settle on the floor.

"You ok?" she asked. Now it was her turn to be concerned.

"Yeah," he winced, "Cooke?"

"Dead. He didn't suffer for long…I'm sorry," she answered.

Ryan just nodded.

"What did they want?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"Wanted to know who we are, why we are here. I think they are probably listening in," he leaned in closer, "Blake was my interrogator," he said in barely audible whisper.

Ryan sat back, holding Annie's gaze for several moments. He didn't say anything more but it was enough to make the cogs turn.

Blake's cover wasn't blown. Surely he would try to help them and they could all get out of this.

Before long the guards arrived again. This time they barked at Annie to follow. She obeyed immediately this time. Her hands were bound and she was led outside.

She had only a moment to study the long, low corridor before a hood was thrown over her head. She felt a large hand tighten around her arm and the barrel of a gun dig into her side.

"Walk!" she heard in a thick Russian accent.

Left, forward fifty paces, through a door on the right. The air here was different and she could hear a heavy whir, as if a large fan was nearby. Forward 20 paces, across metal grating, right, up a set of stairs.

She heard a whispered conversation and the turning of a key. Their footsteps echoed now. They walked her another few paces and then she felt a hand on her shoulder push her down into a hard chair.

The hood was whipped off, making Annie squint in the bright electric light. Blake stood opposite her with his arms folded and a smirk stretching his thin lips.

"Leave us," he commanded with no attempt at a Russian accent.

The guards hesitated but followed the instruction.

"Blake, we were sent for your extraction. We thought your cover was blown," Annie started as soon as she heard to door click shut.

Blake's smirk transformed into a smile and then he laughed.

"No doubt you are, Annie Walker," he said in a voice that sent shivers down her spine.

"You know me?" she asked, feeling more than a little perturbed at his response.

"Your reputation precedes you, Miss Walker. Here's the thing. I was hoping my last communication would have got Langley's attention. And so far, they have done everything by the book, because here you are," he said coolly.

Annie raised her eyes to his but instead of finding the gaze of colleague she found the cold, hard stare of someone who hated her.

"I don't understand…" she answered.

"Oh, come on now. A talented operative like you could surely put two and two together!" he jibed.

Annie's thoughts were reeling. She quickly scanned back over the events of the last 48 hours, trying desperately to think of anything amiss.

"They've turned you. You communicated with Langley, making them think you were in danger, knowing they would send an extraction team," she answered eventually.

"Well done," he smirked and clapped his hands slowly.

"But why?" she asked.

"Now that's a good question. Well see, I have given my life to the CIA and you know what I have gotten in return? I missed the birth of my first child, I lost my wife because she thought I was cheating, I missed being at my Father's side when he passed away. I lost everything, and all Langley could see was an opportunity. When I no longer had any ties they started to send me on longer assignments, deep cover…that was their biggest mistake. I done exceptionally well on my first but afterwards I couldn't seem to shake this sense of betrayal. I got to know the men I was working against much better than anyone at the agency, got to know their reasons behind their fight, their stories. They considered me a friend, a brother and because of me, they are all dead now. In the end it was simple. When I joined Denisovich, I told him immediately who I was and what I wanted to do…he welcomed me with open arms. Now a year on, we are finally ready," he said as he paced back and forward before Annie.

"Ready for what?" she asked.

"Well now, I can't go telling you all the details. But this I can say; I won't be hiding in the shadows any longer. I wanted you here because I intend to send Langley a message. I want to show them they have a new enemy to be at war with."

"Then you should know that I'm not CIA, not anymore. They contracted us to come get you," Annie said, as she tried to discretely loosen her ties and failed.

"Pity. Perhaps I could re-acquaint you with your old friends at the FSB instead…perhaps not…I think you'll do though. You may not be CIA but I think it will have the same effect."

He signalled for the guards once more and they led her back to the cell. The hood was removed once more and the cable ties cut before they opened the door and pushed her inside.

"He didn't hurt you?" Ryan asked as she sat down beside him.

"No. He has been turned. No need to worry about being listened to, he knows exactly who I am. This whole thing was a setup," Annie said, going on to tell him about what Blake had divulged.

"What do you think he plans to do?" Ryan asked.

"No idea, but I can't imagine it will be much fun for us. We need to think of a way out of here," Annie said decisively.

They sat quietly for more than an hour. Twice they heard movement behind the door but no one guards came in.

Annie had been hatching a plan in the silence. She brushed Ryan's arm to get his attention and finding his eyes tried to give him a meaningful look. After a moment he seemed to understand.

Letting herself sink to the floor, she began to writhe and gasp for air as if she were in pain.

"Help! Please she needs her medicine again. Please, you need to help her," Ryan shouted, banging on the door.

A hatch opened and a Russian guard looked in. The hatch closed again.

They shared a look. It didn't seem like the plan would work. Annie was about to stop her charade when the lock slid once more and two guards entered. One knelt beside her, ready to give her the injection.

Kicking upwards she caught the guard in the chest. He staggered backwards. Ryan had already disarmed the other man.

Within a few seconds both Russian's were down. Taking their weapons, keys and radio they locked them in the cell and cautiously set off down the corridor.

"We are miles away from the nearest town. We need to find our stuff if we have any hope of getting out of here," Ryan said in a whisper.

The approached the first door, and with Annie keeping watch, Ryan peered through the keyhole.

"Looks empty," he said, edging the door open.

It was just a small store room as was the following two rooms. The third sounded occupied. Sticking to their method, Ryan checked, gave a nod and pushed the door open. The men inside were dead before they had a chance to look around.

Annie scanned the room as Ryan kept watch. She had a quick check of the lone computer but there was nothing much of interest but a search of the filing cabinet turned up a map of the facility and by some miracle she found their backpacks locked in the cabinet.

Shoving aside one of the bodies, she spread out the map on the desk.

"The intel Blake was feeding Langley was completely false. This facility is massive, but I think I know where we are and there looks to be an exit nearby," she told Ryan.

Annie took the lead, continuing up the corridor and turning left. They had to duck out of sight twice before they reached the doorway to the staircase.

Several flights later they exited, took out the lone guard and found themselves, once more, in dense forest.

"That was easier than I thought it would be," said Ryan, "We should get moving, it won't be long 'til the notice we are missing. We should put as much distance between us and them as possible."

He quickly checked the GPS compass device and used the satellite phone to give the helicopter pilot instructions for their extraction before heading for the trees at a quick jog. They had barely been out five minutes when shouts went up behind them followed by the sounds of pursuit.

Picking up the pace the raced on through the trees.

"There," Annie heard shouted in Russian.

Gun fire echoed about them and Annie instinctively ducked as bullets splintered bark. But the Russians failed to meet their mark and soon it seemed as if they were falling behind.

They pushed onwards as their pursuers fell further and further behind. Annie felt her muscles beginning to tire but she had reached this point so many times before, it was easy to ignore.

"We're not far from the extraction point," panted Ryan.

Annie could see the trees were beginning to thin and she could hear the blades of a helicopter in the distance. Relief flooded her system at the thought of being safe.

The helicopter was hovering, ready for them to board, just a hundred paces ahead in a clearing when the gunshot rang through the trees.

Annie felt a searing pain shoot up her thigh and she stumbled. She looked behind to find Blake and three other men approaching.

Ryan was already doubling back to help her, his face creased with concern.

"We'll never make it," she called to him, "Go. Go get more help and come back for me."

His expression turned from concern, to disbelief and then to a sorrowful realisation.

The pain in Annie's leg was excruciating but watching Ryan, his face screwed up in his own anguish as he turned towards the helicopter was unbearable.


	3. Chapter 3

"Incoming call, McQuaid."

Auggie had a sinking feeling as soon as he heard the voice issuing from his phone.

"McQuaid, what can I do for you?" he answered.

"Its Annie," said the deep voice on the other end.

Auggie's fist tightened as he listened to how Annie had been shot and then abandoned in the heart of Russia.

"I shouldn't have left her. God, I wanted to go back, it tore me apart to leave her behind. But she was right, we'd both be stuck there now and we'd have no hope at getting help."

"Your right. You shouldn't have left her. She wouldn't have left you. She would have helped you and then thought of some way of getting you both out of there, without needing extra help," Auggie spat into the phone, barely able to control his anger.

There was a silence on the end of the phone and then a long sigh, "Perhaps your right. Well, I know how important she is to you, I just thought I should let you know," said McQuaid dejectedly.

"Luckily for you, I haven't left DC yet. I'll head down to Langley, see if there is anything I can do…and McQuaid, if anything happens to her, I am holding you responsible," he said and hung up, just as he heard his apartment door slide open.

"Ok, I got the last of the stuff we need. Just need to put it in the case and we are set…what's wrong?" he heard Tash say.

"Tash, I can't leave tomorrow," he told her, bracing himself for her reaction.

"What! What now, you've left Auggie. I thought this had stopped, I thought your commitment was to me now!"

"I know, I know…it's Annie. She's in trouble, life or death kind of trouble."

"Isn't it always?" Tash complained.

"This more than other times…look, she risked her life to save us, to save you. I owe it to her, so do you," Auggie argued.

"No, Auggie, she wanted to save you. Saving me would have just been a bonus."

"Tash! Listen, just two days. Give me two days and then we'll be outta here, I promise," he negotiated.

"I can't stop you," she said, slamming the bags down onto the worktop, "Go. But Auggie, you can't just drop everything every time she is in danger. One of these times you are going to have to choose, me or her."

Auggie left without saying another word. He was still seething as he flagged down a cab. He loved Tash and he could give up his commitment to Langley to be with her but why couldn't she understand that he had a deeper commitment to his friends, Annie especially, that he could never just walk away from. Had she never had people she would do anything for?

He pulled out his cell when he got seated in the cab.

"Call Joan Campbell," he said. She picked up on the first ring.

"Auggie," she said grimly.

"Joan, I just heard from McQuaid. I'm coming over," he said.

"Auggie, I know you want to help but you're no longer CIA. Listen, I'll keep you updated…"

"Hell, Joan, this is Annie we are talking about and she is stuck in Russia, again! If anyone can help find and save her, you know it's me."

Joan paused, "Ok, I can tell I am not going to win this one. Your help will be welcome."

Auggie manoeuvred through Langley's corridors with ease. Over the years it had become a second home to him. He hadn't thought he'd be back when he had resigned just a few weeks before and now that he was, he felt an odd sort of relief. Was he really ready to leave this life behind?

"Auggie!" he heard Joan's voice.

Taking her elbow, she guided him the rest of the way to the DPD.

"Where are we at?" he asked her.

"McQuaid is still on the ground. We are assembling a strike team to join him. Blake's got to know that we'll be sending someone, we just have to do it quick before he can hurt Annie in any way."

"McQuaid said Blake is stationed at some sort of underground facility? Sounds like it will be hard to infiltrate."

"Yeah. Blake sent us intel suggesting that they moved about in a small group of no more than five men, setting up temporary camps and never staying more than a week in one place. Our satellite imaging of the area supported that. Looks like he's been manipulating us for a long time. We think we have found the entrance to the facility that McQuaid is talking about on satellite imaging. McQuaid said it was large, but its main defense was its camouflage, he didn't see any electronic defenses."

"Well, that's something at least," Auggie answered, the situation feeling a little less desperate.

Auggie was about to leave Joan and get to work himself when he heard a woman's voice, "Joan, I think you should see this. We have a live video feed coming through from Russia."

Joan led Auggie into the main office area, where the buzz of voices quickly died down to a stunned silence.

"Joan, what's going on?"

"Oh, Annie," she sighed.

"Joan?" Augie pressed.

"They have her tied to a chair. She doesn't look good, they've been at work on her…at least they've bound her thigh."

"Dammit!" Auggie exclaimed.

"Blake's just appeared on screen…Asshole looks proud of himself," she said, describing the video feed to Auggie, "Can we make sure the volume is turned up please," she shouted to the techs in the room.

"Hello Langley," said a cold voice, "By now I am sure you're aware of the situation your girl Annie is in. Shame, I was hoping it would be a surprise. Never mind. So, here's the deal. For a long time all I could think of is how much I hate you all at Langley. My life and everything important to me is insignificant to you. I and every other field operative have only been as important as the intel we could provide. It didn't matter to you who I lost and I've lost everything. All I've been able to think about is making you lose as much, and more, than I have and I am not the only operative to think this way. The ironic thing is, you've trained us so well, that you'll never find us all in time! Piece by piece, we are going to bring the CIA down around your ears and you'll be powerless to stop it. I'll start with precious Annie here…I offered her a place among us but ever the patriot she refused. Now she'll be the first to die and you can all have front row seats…however, I am a gambling man. So, I'll give you an hour to grab the popcorn and then it's bye-bye Miss Walker!"


	4. Chapter 4

The red recording light blinked off.

"You were well behaved," smirked Blake.

Annie pushed her tired mind into action. After the rough treatment she had endured over the last couple of hours she wholly believed that he would keep his word. She couldn't trust that Ryan or Langley would reach her in time; she would need to find some way of getting free herself.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat but I have bigger fish to fry. I'm afraid your death is just the beginning of a much bigger game," her captor sighed before leaving her in the hands of the three guards who had manhandled her since they shot her in the forest.

"I am former FSB, Annie Walker. I have heard of you," said the largest, most brutish man in broken English, "I think we have some fun, breaking some your pretty bones."

Annie braced herself as his meaty fist collided with her ribs. Amidst the pain, she noticed the youngest of her torturers was keeping back. His face was stoic during the violence but she thought she could detect the slightest recoil each time she screamed in pain.

She found the young Russian's eyes and held his gaze, in way she hoped expressed her plea for help. After just a few seconds he lowered his face and clenched his fist; he felt guilty.

He would be her way out, if only the other two would disappear.

"This is too easy," said the aggressive man in Russian, "I am going to get a drink."

"Blake will be pissed if he finds out," answered his partner.

"Bah, she isn't going anywhere," he spat, "Leave her with _pidar zhopoliz _there," motioning to the younger Russian.

Annie thanked her stars. Pushing aside the pain that coursed through every muscle, she put on her charm; she had to turn the young Russian.

"Why so you take their abuse?" she asked him.

"Shut up," he barked.

"They don't like you. I don't think you like them either," she said, ignoring his order.

"I said shut up, or I'll hurt you!" he repeated, but he didn't move.

"I don't think you will. I could see that you didn't like what they were doing to me," she pressed.

The Russian hesitated and then his shoulders relaxed, "I have sister who look like you."

"So, why don't they like you, your comrades?"

He relaxed more, "I am Balsunov's brother. I got job from him. They are jealous and think me soft and uh, weak. I don't like hurting people unless to save a comrade."

"Because, you don't love violence like they do? That's not a sign of weakness," she said, flinching as pain arced up through her ribs again.

"I am not weak. Balsunov trained my well with gun," he asserted.

"He wouldn't trust you in this position otherwise," Annie complimented as she tried to push the relationship a little further.

"He stick me here, working for Blake. Stupid American's plan will get us all killed. I want to learn proper family business."

"What's your name?" Annie asked tenderly.

The Russian became hesitant again but eventually answered, "Maks."

"They are going to kill me Maks. You don't need to be a part of this. You're right. The CIA, my partner who escaped, they will be sending a team pretty soon. This place won't exist at the end of today, whether I am dead or not. We could both get out," she pleaded.

Maks's face stretched in anguish as he considered what Annie said.

"I can't betray my brother, even if it mean dying!" he answered.

"It doesn't need to be a betrayal Maks. You could spin the story as a lucky escape. It shouldn't be our day to die!"

Maks started pacing and cursing under his breath in Russian.

"OK, I cut your binds, but I stay here. You are on your own. I'll say you got free and knocked me out," he said.

He took one of the knives his comrades had used to slice into Annie's arm. It was still stained with her blood. Bending down, he cut the ties around Annie's ankles, then her wrists.

"Punch me and take my gun," he instructed.

Annie pushed herself onto her feet. Her injured leg almost gave way but she forced herself to push the pain aside.

"Maks, come with me. When the men arrive from the CIA they won't know you helped me otherwise!"

"No, if you are caught and I am with you, Blake will kill me and my brother will know I betrayed him. Better this way. Now punch me!"

Annie swung back her hand and struck Maks with as much force as her battered body would allow. The brave Russian staggered back but the blow seemed to hurt Annie more than her new friend. Pocketing his gun she hobbled to the door.

"Thanks Maks," she said to him as he positioned himself on the floor.

"Avoid corridor to the right. Those two oafs will be in guard room up there."

Annie nodded and gave him a flash her wide smile before pushing the door open and scanning the corridor. Turning left, she followed the corridor. She had no idea if she was anywhere near the exit Ryan and she had used before.

She thought about trying to find another map of the facility but she knew that meeting any guards would spell her downfall once more. So she pulled herself blindly onwards, hoping she would be lucky enough to come across an area she was familiar with.

Feeling light-headed, she looked down to find that her thigh was bleeding profusely once more and worse, she had left a trail of red droplets behind her. Tightening the bandage around the gunshot wound, she fought off the dizziness and pushed on. Her only hope was to put as much distance between her and them before they realised she was gone.

She had hobbled another hundred metres through the twisting corridors when she heard the whir. She recognised the sound from her blindfolded journey earlier. Perhaps she was in the same place now.

Relaxing her mind, she allowed her memory to stretch back to earlier that day. She had memorized the turns, if she could get back to the corridor with the cell then she could find the exit.

Ignoring the protests from her muscles, she counted her steps and rounded the corners until she found the walls and doors to be familiar. Her heart picked up pace and a new found hope fuelled her movements.

She passed the room where they had found the map. She was close now, she would make it, she told herself.

"Tut tut. Imagine my surprise when I went to check on my guest to find that she escaped my hospitality!" said a cold voice behind her, "Third time you have been caught today. You must be getting sloppy, Miss Walker."

Annie's stopped in her tracks and looked around to find Blake, closely followed by his two cronies and a sheepish looking Maks with a bruise smarting on his face.

"Dmitry, Feliks, go fetch."

Ignoring her shrieks of pain, they dragged Annie back to the torture room with the camera. Blake followed them with his smug swagger and when she was seated and once again tied in the chair, he rolled up his sleeves and pulled out his gun.

"Poor Maks, you got him a nice one, Annie. But something just doesn't quite fit with his story. He reckons you escaped by yourself, but then I find the cable ties neatly cut. I don't think even the skilled Annie Walker could manage a feat like that unaided."

Blade swivelled round, taking the aim of his gun from Annie's chest and without a moment's hesitancy, fired a bullet into Mak's chest.

Annie fought against the ties, wishing desperately that she could free herself so she could get to Blake. But her struggle was futile; the ties were too tight and she was too exhausted and beaten to move much.

"I think it's time we gave Langley another call, don't you?" said Blake.

He slammed his fist into her gut before leaning over and switching on the video camera once more.


End file.
